Former President Donald Tump has accused President Joe Biden of having "hate" for Israel, Jews and Palestinians, while arguing that he is responsible for an avalanche of pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses.
Student protesters have recently been demonstrating against Israel's ongoing attack on Gaza at universities across the country, seemingly inspired by a massive protest at New York City's Columbia University that has been accompanied by repeated reports of antisemitic incidents since erupting last week.
Trump claimed in a post to Truth Social that the student protests made the deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, by white nationalists—in which one person was killed and dozens more were injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd of people protesting the rally—look "like a peanut." The ex-president infamously said there were "very fine people on both sides" following the rally, which Biden later cited as motivation to run for president in 2020.
"Crooked Joe Biden would say, constantly, that he ran because of Charlottesville," Trump wrote on Wednesday. "Well, if that's the case, he's done a really terrible job because Charlottesville is like a 'peanut' compared to the riots and anti-Israel protests that are happening all over our Country, RIGHT NOW ..."
"And it's Crooked's fault because he sends the wrong message every single time," he added. "The fact is that Crooked Joe Biden HATES Israel and Hates the Jewish people. The problem is that he HATES the Palestinians even more, and he just doesn't know what to do!?!?"
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House and the Biden 2024 campaign via email on Wednesday night.
Trump previously blamed Biden for the pro-Palestinian demonstrations after attending the sixth day of his hush-money criminal trial in Manhattan on Tuesday, telling reporters outside the courtroom that the protests were "on Biden" because "he's got the wrong tone, and he doesn't know who he's backing."
The former president also called for more police intervention on campuses. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson made similar remarks while being booed during a visit to Columbia University on Wednesday, demanding that Biden take action and suggesting that the National Guard should get involved.
Biden told reporters on Monday that he condemns "the antisemitic protests" on campuses, while also condemning "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians"—a moment that some compared to Trump's "very fine people on both sides" remark following the Charlottesville rally.
Trump faced backlash earlier this month after saying during a radio interview that "any Jewish person" who votes for Biden "does not love Israel" and "should be spoken to." The former president made similar comments in March, claiming that a Jewish person who votes for Democratic candidates "hates their religion" and "everything about Israel."
Regardless of Trump's rhetoric, polling suggests that the number of Jewish Americans who support him is falling fast while his expected November rematch with Biden quickly approaches. A poll released earlier this week found that Jewish support for Trump had dropped by approximately 15 points since February.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
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